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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I currently have about 9 to 12 months' worth of longer-term storage. I'm familiar with many of the products I've stored and I use them somewhat regularly in my day-to-day cooking. There are a few, however, that I am not as familiar with. I usually choose canned beans instead of using my dried beans. And I feel like I have a lot to learn when it comes to using cornmeal and sprouting wheat. Because I have the food stored, I feel like we would be okay in an emergency. But I would like to have more experience with these products before I might need to use them under more serious circumstances.

So, I've started collecting recipes that use the grains and legumes that I've stored. I try to experiment and practice using these recipes so I can gain a familiarity working with legumes and grains. My goal is definitely a work in progress. I might make one new recipe a month or try a new technique here and there. Hopefully, over time, I'll also have the added advantage of slowly rotating through my longer-term supply.

Below, I've included some links that are great resources for longer-term supply recipes and techniques. I want to emphasize that your three-month storage should be made up of meals that you normally eat. So, these recipes are more for experimentation and use of longer-term food supplies - not three-month supply foods.

FEMA has a book called "Are You Ready? It is a free book. You can download it for free or order a copy. FEMA even will send you multiple copies, for free, to give to your friends and family. Just call the FEMA publications warehouse at 1.800.480.2520 to order your copy/copies.

So, why did I tell you that?

Because the book has a section on identifiny possible hazards you and your family might need to prepare for.

Remember last post when I wrote about people that have been getting prepared for a long time may not have the right answer. I am right, and I am wrong.

I am right because they aren't a single parent with two school-aged kids, live in Los Angeles, or stationed overseas with the military. In other words, they are not in your situation. But I am also wrong. These people have made mistakes, common mistakes, that you can avoid.

One of these mistakes is thinking guns are the answer. If you plan to take food from your neighbor, you are going to die.

I can say this with a reasonable amount of accuracy.

Do you know why? There is one gun for every man, women, and child in these United States of America. With 27 million adult Americans being veterans (trust me, they all know how to shoot. Some of them even know how to make War), you don't have a chance.

Still don't believe me.

Research about the Wild West. Everybody carried a gun, including preachers.

Don't forget posses.

Let government break down and people will step in. You screw with the neighbors; the other neighbors will step in, and they have guns. So should you.

Another mistake is thinking you can go this alone. You can't. There are too many skills and not enough life-time. That is the reason for waving to the neighbors. They may not prepare as much as you will, but you can tell them about the money you saved gardening this year. Then help them when they ask to borrow the tiller and learn about food storage.

Take the teenagers shooting and their moms and dads, too. Get them interested in guns and have your spouse talk to them about how better protected he/she feels with having a loaded gun in the house and the self defense course he/she just completed, so she/he can use it, too.

If you go hunting, take them along. Before you go, get the neighbors to buy some basic camping equipment. If not hunting then semi-primitive camping.

Suggest everybody, during Halloween, sit on the front porches to give out treats and watch over the neighborhood. If it works, then suggest having a neighborhood watch every other Friday night, next summer?

Don't preach, don't make jokes about it, use the soft sell.

And buy extra food for the neighbors, just in case.

Another common mistake, even made by the federal government, is the idea of "Surging." No, I am not talking about Iraq. I am talking about the concept of waiting to just before the emergency happens to do something about it.

We see this every time there is a winter storm, hurricane approaching or other "disaster." People rush to the grocery store to buy milk, eggs, and bread. Usually within 6 hours the store shelves are stripped bare of bread, eggs, and milk. It's called the "French Toast Phenomenon" by some preppers.

Surging doesn't work, except for the first few folks. Truthfully ask yourself, "Where am I, in line, during these past surges for basic supply?"

If you answered front, middle, or even the back, surging doesn't work for you. I say this because what happens when someone not in line wants the stuff someone in line has? If you're in line, how is your family being protected?

What do you do if there are no supplies for you? Some more things to think about, so I'll ...